The press service of the 4th Separate Tank Brigade shared information about their technical unit on Facebook. From this announcement, we can learn for the first time how the German MAN HX81 tank transporter can be used in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The plans for their transfer from Berlin became known in September 2022.
Specifically, this truck, belonging to the 4th Separate Tank Brigade, is part of the evacuation detachment. It carries out tasks to remove damaged equipment from the battlefield so that this equipment can be repaired and returned to service. Interestingly, in the photos, we can see the process of evacuating the damaged T-72 tanks and the armored medical evacuation vehicles on the base of M113 APC of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The authors of the announcement note that thanks to this MAN HX81 tank transporter, with its own name "Vzhik," they can also retrieve captured russian equipment.
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According to the German government, Berlin has currently delivered only 25 such trucks and 20 semi-trailers to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Therefore, it is evident that this equipment is rare for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We can assume that German MAN HX81 trucks are being distributed evenly among Ukrainian army's tank and mechanized units. Moreover, Germany has promised to supply a total of 90 such vehicles, hence there is a planning horizon.
The press service of the brigade states that 2 servicemen operate this MAN HX81 truck with its own name "Vzhik." However, the armored cabin of this vehicle can accommodate up to 4 soldiers.
Regarding other specifications, open sources indicate that the weight of the MAN HX81 truck itself, including the trailer, reaches 130 tons. The maximum payload capacity reaches 73 tons. These vehicles are designed to transport the entire range of equipment in the inventory of the Bundeswehr, including PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers and the 2A7 Leopard tank.
The truck is equipped with an armored cabin weighing 4.5 tons, providing protection against 7.62 mm armor-piercing bullets, fragments, and protection against an 8 kg anti-tank mine blast. The truck has two winches with a pulling force of 20 tons each for towing equipment onto the trailer, and an auxiliary winch with a pulling force of 8 tons for self-recovery if necessary.
The truck's maximum road speed is up to 88 km/h, and its stated range is up to 800 km.
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